The Lovely Sparrow

Complete. Bonus chapters are being updated. Warning: Whenever I write an ending, I can't help adding a few crazy plot twists. If that's not your thing, feel free to click away. Once a bird in a cage, forever buried in its prison. But fortunately, Heaven was not entirely unkind to her. Male lead and second male lead: hzc After being away from home for only a few days, Grand Marshal Huan turned the whole Kingdom of Wei upside down when he returned, but still couldn't find the pretty little bird he'd kept locked in a cage. Then, one day at a palace banquet, he saw her with his own eyes, playing "Phoenix Seeks Its Mate" for another man. Huan Shuo was so furious his teeth ached. Taking advantage of a moment when they were alone, he pulled her into his arms, gripped her chin, and demanded, "What did you do with our child?" The little bird only smiled coldly and replied, "My lord, you've mistaken me for someone else." At first, Huan Shuo humiliated her in every way imaginable, to the point that Jing Ying thought of taking her own life more than once. Later, she decided that a miserable life was better than a good death. Especially when the culprit was still living in splendor: why should she be the one to die in disgrace? Coming soon: "Turns Out I'm the Beautiful, Strong, and Tragic One" Fake-nice, scheming man x fallen noblewoman (childhood sweethearts) The blurb has changed, but the general plot remains the same. As the saying goes, when you're down on your luck, even drinking water is enough to make you choke. Luo Wan was inclined to agree. At sixteen, her family was confiscated and she was exiled, then assigned to the entertainment quarters. Her fiance's family fled at the first sign of trouble. As if that weren't enough, her scumbag ex showed up at the entertainment quarters with her old enemies to mock and sneer at her. But Luo Wan firmly believed the same person couldn't have bad luck twice, or even three times in a row. Clearly, she was wrong. Shen Fu treated her tenderly and cared for her devotedly. He was willing to offend the powerful for her, protecting her from her scumbag ex. Luo Wan gradually let her guard down and fell for him. But when she expressed her feelings by giving him a silk fan, he trampled it underfoot and sneered, "How could a woman from the entertainment quarters ever be a match for me? This was nothing but a passing dalliance. Wanwan, how could you take it seriously?" By then, however, Shen Fu had already beguiled her into becoming his concubine. Her life afterward was unbearable, with Shen Fu tormenting her day after day. Only when Luo Wan was diagnosed as pregnant did she finally find a chance to escape. Shen Fu's ancestors had been pillars of the imperial court, and his grandfather had even served as chancellor in the previous dynasty. But by Shen Fu's generation, his father had died young, and the family had fallen into decline. When he was sixteen, he and his mother traveled north from Huizhou to the capital, hoping to find shelter with his future in-laws. But his fiancee's family looked down on him for being poor and powerless. They treated him coldly and made snide remarks until his mother took ill from the humiliation and died soon after. Shen Fu never forgot. At last, the day came when the Luo family fell from power. He pretended to care for the woman who had fallen into a life of prostitution, tenderly and cautiously looking after her, waiting for the day he could cast her aside without mercy. But when he saw the tears in her eyes and the hatred she felt for him, Shen Fu regretted it. Theme: Love is an equal partnership. A successful relationship must be built on mutual understanding.